Question

how to remove inequality in caste ​

Answer 1

Answer:

Saket Mani, children and youth representative, United Nations, Pune, India.

Make inequality a political campaign issue: Despite being important to the electorate, inequality is absent from major political campaigns. Inequality clearly matters in Asia. A recent poll found that 82% of Indians see it as a major problem. It doesn't take an economist or a sociologist to know that such sharp inequalities are unsustainable. But curiously, in the loud political discourse that assaults us non-stop in the run-up to the general elections, none of the major parties has made fighting inequality a real issue in their campaigns.

Jayati Ghosh, professor of economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.

Introduce land reforms and raise taxation for the wealthy: We should work towards reducing asset inequality through redistributive land reforms but also through inheritance taxes, preventing monopoly of control over water, forests and mineral resources and reducing financial concentration. The equality of opportunity needs to be increased through good quality and universal public provision of essential amenities and social services. We can raise the public resources for doing all this by taxing the wealthy more and by increasing the effective taxation of corporations, which have benefited greatly from the boom and more than doubled their share of national income, but not been taxed accordingly.

Give a voice to oppressed groups: We can tackle bias against caste and gender first of all by recognising the value and dignity of all work (including unpaid work) and all workers (including those in the most difficult arduous and degraded occupations). We should also provide a greater voice to traditionally oppressed and suppressed groups, including by enabling unions and association, and making public and corporate private activity more transparent and accountable to the people generally.

Improve the balance of mass media: The media in India plays a role in sustaining inequality. This is becoming an urgent problem. We must take measures to reduce corporate takeover and manipulation of mass media.

Answer 2

Give a voice to oppressed groups: We can tackle bias against caste and gender first of all by recognising the value and dignity of all work (including unpaid work) and all workers (including those in the most difficult arduous and degraded occupations). We should also provide a greater voice to traditionally oppressed and suppressed groups, including by enabling unions and association, and making public and corporate private activity more transparent and accountable to the people generally.